Tamping-plug.



No. 651x803. y Patented may 29, |900. n. H. vEsEv.

TAMPING PLUG.

(Application tiled Dec. 14, 1898.)

(No Budel.)

UNiTnD lSTATES PATENT @Erica RICHARD H. vnsn'v, .on 'inAuo SPRINGS, VCoLoRAli'o,'.-AssIG1\ioR or' ONEM FOURTH To GEORGES. sANnnnsoN Aun xvAIfrEns.. sANnEI-tsoNoF DENVER, COLORADO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 650,803, dated May 29, 1900.-

TAMPlNe-PLUG.

Attimi-nn mea December 14, 1398. smal No. 699,223. oro merino' `T0 all whomJ it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD II. Vlisnv, a citizen ofthe United States of America, residing at Idaho Springs, in the county of Clear Creek and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Tamping-Plugs; and I do declare the followl ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which i't appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the aecompanyin g drawings, and to the figures ofreferenee marked thereon, which iorm a part of this specification.

My inven-tion relatesto a tampng-plug for use by miners and others while blasting. vIts object is to facilitate the work ol closing the hole in the roel: after the charge of giant- Apowder has been deposited and also to lessen the. danger incident to the use of giant-powder in this class of work. After drilling the hole in the rock tothe required depth and placing the powder therein the ordinary practice is to insert the cap and fuse' and then fill the hole around the fuse with such material, fine rock and dirt, as may be accessible, this material being tamped tightly in place in order to confine the powder and increase its explosive action. This operation is slow and tedious, and in case of a missed shot or the failure of the powder to explode the material tamped around the fuse', as heretofore explained, must be dug out .to permit the insertion of a new fuse. This operation is very dangerous and the concussion often explodes the powder,resulting in loss of life or serious 'injury to those engaged in the Work. The object of my improvement is to overcome these diiticulties by iirst obviating the necessity of the tamping operation, as heretofore defined, and, second, by eliminating all danger in case' the powder fails to explode as anticipated.

To these ends my improvement consists of the featu res,arran gements, and combinations hereinafterdeseribed and claimed, all 0E Vwhich will be fully understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In the drawings, Figure l is a section taken through the rock,showing my improved tamping-plug in place preparatory to tightening the device by driving in the shorter plug part. Fig. 2 is a side elevation ot' the plug', shown 'in detail and on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a iangitudinal section taken through'the same. Fig. 4 is a face view otono oi the wedgeshaped parts of the device. Fig. 5 is crosssection taken through the device on the line .fn-ir, Fig. 3. I

Similar reference characters indicating corresponding parts in these views, let the nu merals 5 and G designate, respectively, two wedge-shaped coperating parts which together form acylindrcal or approximatelycylindrical plugA provided with a longitudinal opening 7, forming a passage-way for the insertion of the fuse and cap.

My improved two-part plug maybe formed by boring a holein acylindrical pieeeofv wood and sawing through it diagonally, wherebyposed of soft rubber and made of such size as to receive the cap 9 and at the same time forni a water-tight joint around the fuse to prevent the Water or moisture from reaching the cap.' These caps are primed or loaded with fulminate of mercury, and the presence of moisture 'renders them useless. The part 5 of the plug is provided with a, piece of stii canvas 10,l

whose edges -are secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by the use of glue or other sticky substance. This canvas piece Aforms a sort of sheath or holder for the part 6 of the plug and connectsthe two parts temporarily. -IIence it is a convenience, and at the same time it increases the friction between the rock and the plug part G as the latter is forced into the hole, thus causing it to hold better and overcoming any tendency to slip backward as itis forced into the hole.

A piece is eut,v

This plug may, however, be formed IOO l.

on the fuse outside of the cap,

there-is no danger of exploding the -of the plug part and engages a center-part recess formed in the part 6 preparatory. to

' driving the part 6 inwardly during the tightening operation. The .face of this tongue is beveled, and its vouter extremity lies in the plane of the plug-face. Hence the incline of the tongues face is steeper than the incline of the face of the part 5, andthe tongue has therefore a tendency to'separate the outer portions of the plug parts as' the plug 6 is forced inwardly'. This feature is important fromthe-fact that the holes in the rock are usually larger at their outer extremities and diminish in .size as4 they extend inwardly, for the reason that the drill-bit as it is used wears smaller, thus making the hole in the rock of less diameter as it extends inwardly.

In using my improved device the powder 13 is rst placed in the hole in the rock. The cap 9 is then put on the end ofthe fuse 14 and inserted in the hole 7 of the plug until the closed end of the cap is nearly liush with the innerextremity ofthe plug part 5.' When this is done, the rubber tube 8 closes tightly forming a water-tight joint, as heretofore explained. The plug is then inserted in a hole in the rock until the larger extremity of the part 5 is in contact, or nearly in contact, with the powder.

The plug is then tightened in the hole byI tampingon the outer` or larger extremity of the' part 6, which moves inwardly until the plug is securely fastened Aby the Wedging ac` tion of the' two parts. It will be observed that' as the part 6 is forced inwardly the partl 5 remains practically stationary, whereby powder,

refer-ably prosince the inner extremity of the part 6 cannotY reach the 'powder during vthe operation of plugging the hole. When the explosion takes place, the outward pressure or force applied to the larger extremity of the part 5 of the plug has atendency to tighten the plug in the hole. Hence' the plug can nejve'r blew out. In case of a 'charge wherein the power fails to explode it may be exploded without removing the plug. This is accomplished by exploding a little powder in the'hole outside ofthe plug? In this case the resulting concussion acting on the plug explodes the origi- ,iial charge.

It must be understood that I do not limit the invention tothe details of construction herein shown and described, as l am aware that many changes may be made without dela parting' from' the spirit of the invention,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is'- ll. A tampi'ng-plug provided with a fuse opening and comprising two parte having in. clined, engaging faces, one' part hein provided with a tongue having an inclina louer pitchgreater than that above which it pro-v jects.

2, A tamping-plug' havinga fuse-opening,- and comprising two 4 wedge-sh a-pcd coperating parts, and suitable means for temporarily connecting the two parts together, said means comprising a sheath attached to one part and adapted to receive the other part.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

Bierman n'vnsnx.

4- Witnessesz- A. J. H. BRICE, BERNICE C. CAUGHEY, 

